google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, October 26, 2009 Jerome Gunderson

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Oct 26, 2009

Monday, October 26, 2009 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: An Arnold Catch Phrase - "I'll Be Back" (The first words of 17-, 34- and 39-Across)

17A: Hymn whose title follows the line "When I die, Hallelujah, by and by": I'LL FLY AWAY.

34A: Scout's motto: BE PREPARED.

39A: How duelists begin: BACK TO BACK.

56A: With "The," Schwarzenegger film released 10/26/1984, and a hint to the puzzle theme found in the first words of 17-, 34- and 39-Across: TERMINATOR.

Nice 25th anniversary tribute puzzle.

Funny thing: In the first film he was the bad guy but when he came 'BACK', he was the good guy.

Argyle here. If you notice I didn't weed out the easy clue/answers, it is because I want to see what Lois can do with them.

Across:

1A: Highway hauler: SEMI.

5A: Cut off: SEVER.

10A: "__ Silver, away!": HI-YO. Sheesh! I always thought it was HI-HO SILVER.

14A: Gas in a sign: NEON

15A:. Utah city: PROVO. Above the A in UTAH.

16A: Sign of the future: OMEN.

19A: Fill to excess: SATE.

20A: "Cats" poet: T. S. Eliot . "Dare I eat a peach" 47D: Like ripe peaches: JUICY.

21A: Gum arabic tree: ACACIA. A striking tree. And 61A: "Star Trek: T.N.G." counselor Deanna: TROI. A striking woman and she is an empath so watch what you're thinking around her.

24A: Traffic cone: PYLON.

26A: Knight's lady: DAME.

28A: Slimy stuff: GOO.

29A: Relative known for quitting?: UNCLE. Making your opponent in a fight cry, "UNCLE", means they give up. Is STOWE clue (37D: Uncle Tom's creator) your original, Jerome?

33A: Run the country: RULE.

37A: Air ace's missions: SORTIES.

41A: Baseball stats: RBIS.

42A: "Old MacDonald" refrain: EIEIO.

43A: Rile up: IRK.

44A: Ado: FUSS.

45A: Resided: DWELT.

47A: Dance from Ireland: JIG.

48A: __ Tar Pits: LA BREA. We learned last time that LA BREA means "the tar" in Spanish , so it's The Pit Tar Pits.

51A: Daybreak: SUNRISE.

55A: French franc successor: EURO.

59A: Ford Explorer Sport __: TRAC. TRAC is ad-speak for TRACK.

60A: Storage room: ATTIC.

62A: Armored vehicle: TANK.

63A: Snappish: TESTY. And 1D: Grumpy mood: SNIT.

64A: Lip-__: mouth the words: SYNC.

Down:

2D: Morays, e.g.: EELS.

3D: Lawn burrower: MOLE.

4D: Arouse, as passion: INFLAME. I hardly dare combine these two. 5D: Watch covertly: SPY ON.

6D: The E in Q.E.D.: ERAT.

7D: Solemn promise: VOW.

8D: Sister of Zsa Zsa: EVA.

9D: Fit for a king: ROYAL.

10D: Biblical cry of adoration: HOSANNA.

11D: Popular Apple: IMAC. Noticed Apple is capitalized? I tried to put in iPOD; didn't work.

12D: Himalayan giant: YETI.The "Abominable Snowman" was coined in 1921.

13D: Fit to be drafted: ONE A.

22D: Political takeovers: COUPS.

24D: Kellogg's toaster pastry: POP-TART. They are facing a stiff ad campaign from Toaster Strudel.

25D: "Alas, poor __!": Hamlet: YORICK. The cemetery scene. "Alas, poor Yorick" has always been one of the most fondly remembered lines from Hamlet (or misremembered lines—Hamlet does not say "Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him well" but "I knew him, Horatio).

26D: Persian Gulf emirate: DUBAI. It has the world's tallest building.

27D: Wonderland girl: ALICE. Alice in her rightful place.

28D: Rodent kept as a house pet: GERBIL.

30D: Baby beds: CRIBS.

31D: Lee jeans alternative: LEVIS.

32D: Ice cream brand: EDY'S.

33D: Judge's attire: ROBE.

34D: Scarer's shout: BOO. and 35D: Scared response: EEK. Neato! Nice clue echo.

40D: Duettist with Sheryl Crow in the song "Picture": KID ROCK. The song.

41D: Toon babies of '90s-'00s TV: RUGRATS.

44D: Sawyer's friend: FINN. Tom and Huck.

46D: Frequent, as a diner: EAT AT.

48D: Riga native: LETT. A native of Latvia.

49D: Distinctive emanation: AURA.

50D: Muffin ingredient: BRAN.

51D: Infatuated, old-style: SMIT. We still use SMITTEN.

52D: "This is my best effort": I TRY.

54D: Guitarist Clapton: ERIC. "... You look wonderful tonight..." What's your favorite Eric Clapton song?

57D: Somme summer: ETE. Alliteration.

58D: Privileges: Abbr.: RTS..

Answer grid.

Argyle

67 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - probably my most enjoyable Monday puzzle in many months. Loved the clues, loved the theme. A great job by Jerome, and Rich has definitely heard our pleas for a ramp-up.

I liked the positioning of 'boo' and 'eek'. Needed the perps for the hymn line and the Star Trek counselor. And any puzzle has to be good that has a poptart in the middle.

I finally got to do the weekend puzzles (had houseguests from California for the past week) and agree with the comments; outstanding puzzles.

Today is National Mincemeat Day.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." -- Samuel Johnson

A couple good SNL News reports:

- "Edmar Fretok, a Brazilian weight-training instructor, broke a world record by doing 111,000 sit-ups in 24 hours. Fretok also set the 24-hour record for most accidental farts." -- Jimmy Fallon

- "Sesame Street Workshop announced that they have laid off 60 workers. News of the firings was brought to the employees by the letters F and U." -- Tina Fey

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC, Argyle and Friends. This was a bit more of a challenging puzzle than the usual Monday, but still a lot of fun.

What other Schwarzenegger films are there? Rhetorical question, of course, The Terminator and the phrases, "I'll be back" and "Hasta la vista, baby!" are the first things that come to my mind.

I, too, thought the phrase was "Hi Ho, Silver!" Not being a Star Trek fan, I had to rely on the perps to get TROI.

The newspaper print is small and my eyes aren't what they used to be, so I read 29A as "Relative known for quilting." Couldn't figure out what an UNCLE had to do with quilting. D'Oh!

Favorite Clapton song? This version of Layla with Clapton and Mark Knopfler.

I know Alice belongs in Wonderland, but does anyone remember the movie, Next Stop Wonderland, Wonderland being a T stop in Boston?

QOD: Happiness is having a large, loving, close-knit family in another city. ~ George Burns.

Dick said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. and all, another nice ramp up in difficulty to the puzzles. I find the puzzles of the last week much more enjoyable that those we were exposed to for awhile.

Not too much to comment on today as most of the puzzle was pretty straight forward. Since I was never a fan of “Star Trek” I did not know that fill, but the perps took care of that area. Also, Argyle, I thought the Lone Ranger's expression was "Hi Ho Silver."


Sure would like to see the Phillies beat the Yankees.

Hope you all have a great Monday

Martin said...

I'll be the fourth person to say I thought the Lone Ranger was saying HI HO. Of course, it was actually the seven dwarfs from the Disney movie Snow White who said "Hi ho".

I would have thought a native of Latvia would be a Lat. Turns out that's the name of the currency.

My first thought for GERBIL ("Rodent kept as a house pet") was GOPHER. I mean, we keep cats and dogs as pets so why not gophers?

Arnold Schwarzenager's Terminator character said "I'll be back" in the first movie to a receptionist at the police station (if I recall correctly). He then drove a truck through the front door. The line is an example of deadpan: a line is delivered emotionlessly for comic effect.

La Brea Tar Pits would be The Tar Tar Pits.

I've always wondered about Yorick: why was Yorick's skull lying around and not buried in a grave? And how was Hamlet able to recognize the skull? Did he know it was Yorick's family who was too cheap to buy a burial plot?

I may not always be funny but at least I TRY.

I hope C.C. is okay: I have a feeling she was dragging herself out of bed to complete the puzzles and blogs last week.

Martin

Lemonade714 said...

Yes, you really had to pay attention to this Monday puzzle; great job. No more coasting for us. I agree with Dennis about the POPTART in the middle. Which is your favorite- A , or B .

Richard Johnson said...

Just a minor comment. A Knight's Lady is just that, a Lady, never a Dame. A Dame is an award in itself to deserving ladies in the way that a Knighthood is given to deserving males.

Argyle said...

Richard Johnson, welcome.

A woman mmay be a Dame without being married to a Knight but a Knight's wife is always a Dame. I looked it up.

Lemonade714, hasn't Pop Tart 'B'
past her expiration date?

PJB-Chicago said...

Argyle: such good blogging today. I hope C. C. is getting some well-deserved rest. Jerome, your hometown newspaper should have a headline today "Local Man Does Good," (or "Well" if they're hung up on grammar). This was nicely put together and you had clever, funny clues. I won't quibble about HI YO or complain about Deanna TROI because the perps made those solvable where my brain wasn't budging! I knew Deanna's face but not the spelling of her name.

Pop Tarts are a guilty pleasure, best toasted, but sort of yucky nuked. We used to even put butter on them as kids! I wish I were kidding.

This was the best Monday puzzle in quite some time. Hat's off to you.
pjb

kazie said...

Argyle,
Great job, as always.

C.C.,
Hope you are getting rested up for the rest of the week.

I enjoyed this puzzle as much as the rest of you, and the difficulty level was just right. but I have to own up: I have never, and will never, eat a poptart or any manufactured toaster pastry. I much prefer good whole wheat bread toasted, especially what I make myself.

Dennis,
Loved the SNL quotes.

I needed perps for a few things, including the tar-tar pits, since my memory operates like a sieve lately and I forgot what it was, despite remembering that we'd had it recently.

That repetition of the foreign word in the English usage reminds me of another linguistic gripe: people and menus who/which say "with au jus" which means "with with juice". There are probably many other examples. Can anyone else think of more?

Al said...

I can't choose between Tears in Heaven (unplugged), Change the World (unplugged), or the version of Layla that Hahtool linked.

Al said...

@Kazie, not quite the same thing, but how about this for not understanding the language: vegetarian chili con carne. Wouldn't that just be "chili"?

Andrea said...

Morning all -

Nice puzzle today - the right amount of challenge for a Monday. Other than a small hiccup at the Hiyo/Yeti crossing (I had hi ho...) no inky crossouts. I didn't know Troi, but got it from the perps.

Kazie fessed up, so now it's my turn: I have never watched Star Trek. Nor have I ever seen a John Wayne movie. I have enjoyed a Pop Tart or two in the past. Used to be one of my very favorites. Definitely toasted, never cold or nuked.

A mole has taken up residence in our back yard. Raking over all the tunnel humps was quite interesting this weekend. Any tips on how to send him on his way??

Chickie - thanks for the Halloween book suggestion. Sounds like a book Zoe would enjoy.

Tears in Heaven and Change the World are both incredible songs - hard to pick an absolute favorite.

Enjoy the day.

Andrea

kazie said...

Al,
I think it's close to the same thing--at any rate it shows the person has no understanding of the foreign words. Sound interesting as recipe though.

Andrea,
Good luck! DH has tried mothballs down the holes, flooding the tunnels with a hose after blocking all exits and numerous other tricks, none of which seem fully successful, including standing poised over a tunnel with a pitchfork or shovel and trying to spear the little varmint as he passes by. Someone else suggested pumping some sort of gas down the hole but I can't remember what it was.

bunny said...

My dad got rid of a persistent mole problem (may have been gophers, we never saw the culprits) by attaching a vacuum cleaner hose to the tailpipe of his truck and putting the other end of the hose down a hole. Ran the engine for what seemed like half an hour. End of problem.

g8rmomx2 said...

Hi c.c. and all:

Well, I too thought it was "Hi Ho Silver, away!" And, seems there is a lot of confusion, because I can see references to both when I googled it. I even listened to part of an old show that sounded like Hi Ho to me!

Great puzzle. Would not have gotten Troi without the perps, but otherwise no problems.

Have a great day everyone and c.c. hope you get some much needed rest and that you're up to speed soon.

Warren said...

Hi Argyle & gang, We thought it was Hi Ho vs. Hi Yo also but the perps proved it was Yo not Ho.

For kazie: here's a link on how to get rid of gophers
"There are a lot of different types of gophers, but the pocket gopher is probably the gopher you’re trying to get rid of. Getting rid of gophers isn’t easy. Gophers harder than hell to get rid of. I think that’s the lesson we all learned from Carl Spackler and his obsession with a dancing gopher in the cult classic, Caddyshack." ...

Jerome said...

Hey, this is pretty nice so far, I'm gettin' some love here!

Argyle- My clue for STOWE was simply, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" author"

I never thought Hi Yo was Hi Ho, but until I researched the phrase I thought it was "Hi Yo Silver, Hi Yo!" and not the correct "Hi Yo Silver, away!" Odd how many of us get a simple phrase wrong that we've heard since childhood.

I also thought most would feel the puzzle was too easy. Glad that it isn't. Also, the puzzle has, I believe, my best effort for Monday fill. Favorites- KID ROCK, JUICY, YORICK, GERBIL, HOSANNA, RUG RATS, UNCLE, and POPTARTS.

Any questions... thoughts...ideas?

Spitzboov said...

Pretty easy puzzle. No strikethroughs. Agree with the HIHO comments.

Used my IMAC to post this :-)

Argyle said...

Clip

Commander Deanna Troi, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Lieutenant Commander Data, a Soong-type android, and Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All,

HOSANNA, PYLON, POPTART, YORICK, GERBIL, KIDROCK and RUG RATS are some of the best fills I've seen in a long time, much less a Monday. They were doable (some with perp help), but not the boring stuff of months past. Way to go, Jerome!

I looked up SMIT post puzzle. Turns out it is the past participle of "smite".

I didn't know TROI either. I haven't watched any Star Trek since Kirk and Spock.

Kazie, :o) Can you prefer one thing over another if you've never tried one of them? (I know, you prefer not to try Poptarts.)

How about Shrimp Scampi for a confusing menu item? In the US, a Scampi recipe almost always uses shrimp.

My favorite Clapton song is the peppy Lay Down Sally.

Now then, can anybody come up with a favorite Kid Rock song? I'm dating myself, but I can't come up with any Kid Rock song.

Anonymous said...

Good morning everyone.

I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle. Thank you, Jerome. I've never seen "Star Trek", and don't know cars. And I pondered over pylon. But there were the perps and far reaches of my brain to help.
I love any mention of T.S.Eliot - he's one of my favorites. And I loved seeing "Cats" on Broadway.

C.C., I think your posts this week have been as good as always. I think we should stop picking on you by damning with faint good wishes.

Cheers

Anonymous said...

ClearAyes, but I was smitten with my first love.

Argyle said...

Jerome said @10:12 AM
Argyle- My clue for STOWE was simply, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" author"


That was C.C.'s catch; she doesn't like to see the use of an answer(29A) in a clue(37D).

Clear Ayes said...

Sally, me too, at least I thought I was smitten. But I may just have been SMIT.

PJB, I had never read Lisel Mueller poems before yesterday's recommendation. Some of her poems are quite dark, or fairly long, so this blog might not be the place for them. I did find this interesting example of her poetry. I liked it a lot.

Things

What happened is, we grew lonely
living among the things,
so we gave the clock a face,
the chair a back,
the table four stout legs
which will never suffer fatigue.

We fitted our shoes with tongues
as smooth as our own
and hung tongues inside bells
so we could listen
to their emotional language,

and because we loved graceful profiles
the pitcher received a lip,
the bottle a long, slender neck.

Even what was beyond us
was recast in our image;
we gave the country a heart,
the storm an eye,
the cave a mouth
so we could pass into safety.

- Lisel Mueller

Jerome said...

C.C. and Argyle- Wow, I never caught the repeat in clue and answer! Sheesh!

I have many times while constructing a puzzle used the same fill word twice. I'm sure most constructors have. It's usually a three letter one. Of course they're always caught soon enough. During the constructing process and the self-editing and the constant deletions and additions sometimes the grid with all its words and letters starts to look like a jumbled, crazy mass of alphabet soup.

3 of Four said...

Morning all;>)

Hahtool - to answer your rhetorical question...There was another cine with Arnold that ties to a clue in todays XW. In the film Action Hero - Arnold falls into the La Brea Tar Pits! - and yes it was a forgetable film (don't we hold on to the stangest memories!).

Great job Argyle and Jerome

Anonymous said...

@c.c., get used to the duplication. this is not nyt.

Crockett1947 said...

Good morning, everyone!

Argyle, I did the exact same thing -- HI HO instead of HI YO.

@48A The Tar Tar Pits?

Ditto on IPOD.

@hahtool Nice G Burns quote. Say Goodnight, Gracie.

Ah, lemonade714, nice links.

Argyle and Jerome, excellent day today. C.C., hope you are back on the healthy side of things.

Have a great Monday!!

kazie said...

Warren,
Thanks for the gopher recipe, I'll pas it along to DH, but Andrea was the one asking this morning.

CA,
I guess what I prefer is the idea of the healthier choice, and I just don't like sickly sweet things in general. My favorite desserts are things with a fruity tang to them, rather than over sweet chocolate wickedness.
Also, the smit/smitten thing may be a throwback to a Saxon influence: the irregular verb participles in German mostly end in "-en", like our "taken", "swollen", "drunken" etc. Notice how most uses of "drink" now only require "drunk", so maybe "smit" is for a related reason.

Jerome said...

Anonymous- To correct your snide and cheap shot at the LAT, and by extension, its constructors and the editor, I offer you this small dose of reality-

Today's NYT puzzle has the two fill phrases AIM TO and HEAR OF. There are also multiple clues using the words TO and OF.

Shove that in your pipe and smoke it.

Andrea said...

I was going to post this
Mom Song a while back when we were discussing Lone Ranger song vs. William Tell Overture. With today's Hi Yo/Ho Silver, seems appropriate today. Hope all the Moms enjoy! :)

Anonymous said...

@jerome, prepositions don't count.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

I can hardly listen to TEARS IN HEAVEN without tearing up myself. Can't imagine how Clapton performs it.

Jerome - Excellent! Well executed anniversery theme. You had to BE PREPARED well in advance.

Argyle - fine blogging, as always.

Worked the puzzle in Across Lite, and filled in 56 A without reading the whole clue. So, I was clueless on the theme. But if you hover over the clue, voila, the otherwise hidden words pop up. Let that be a lesson to me!

I had a mole in the yard a couple of years ago. We got a bag of some mole repellent stuff and spread it around, but I can't say it did a lot of good. I might have got him with a shovel-stab, but I'm not too sure about that either.

Didn't feel particularly good about it. I'm such a wuss!

Haven't watched Star Trek since the original series.

I hope ANYBODY beats the Yankees.

Not a fan of pop tarts - of any variety.

Isn't "vegetarian chili con carne" an oxymoron. If someone wants to be a vegetarian, that OK by me. But why disguise vegetation as animal products? There's veggie burgers, veggie hot dogs, even veggie cheese slices. I'm confused.

I always thought the dwarfs saying, "Hi, Ho!" to Snow White was both rude and presumptuous.

Unless her name was an oxymoron.

Cheers!
JzB the confused about so many things trombonist

DCannon said...

Fairly quick and easy today. Worked it while listening to son and husband chat.

Martin, if I remember my Shakespeare correctly, they were digging up a cemetary (to build something there?) and they knew which graves were which. Therefore, they knew the skull was Yorick's.

Add me to the list of those who thought it was "Hi Ho, Silver."

I know almost nothing about Star Trek, so "Troi" was a fill for me.

Argyle said...

Dear Anonymous, from whence cometh such animosity. Have you been hurt or damaged in some way?

Being anonymous means you have no standing in this court. Begone or name thyself.

Jerome said...

Clear Ayes- Maybe you should be a crossword puzzle editor. The fill words you liked were pretty much the same ones Rich liked. In fact, I think, more so than usual, the fill had a lot to do with this puzzle being accepted.

kazie said...

Al,
Add "from whence" to our list of superfluous words. Whence = from which place. Old English is a foreign language to most of us after all. LOL

Bill G. said...

What does "fills" refer to? I'm guessing they are significant non-theme words. Is there any minimum length? Can a three- or four-letter word be a fill? If not, do they have a name too?

PJB-Chicago said...

Argyle, thank you for putting into words exactly what I was think.
We know Jerome to be a decent guy, and someone who explains puzzle constructor stuff very clearly. He made a good puzzle today.

Dennis--those were such good SNL quotes. Tina Fey is a very good writer, and Jimmy Fallon had good writers behind him then. His late-night talk show was painful to watch.

ClearAyes, thanks! You picked a good one. Lisel Mueller's poems about "drawings by children" are also good. I don't read that much poetry, but I enjoy the pieces you bring to us.

I once had to teach Dante's Inferno in Italian and felt woefully unequipped. My first response was WTH. It was adult ed., & the students had requested the course. I panicked, bigtime but survived. Robert Pinsky's translation is my favorite, (he didn't translate Paradiso or the Purgatory thing) and I do think the helpful notes and map provided in the book mean anyone can work their way through it. Easier than Shakespeare. There are 9 circles of hell, and snarky anonymous people who write mean things on the blog probably go to the 9th! Inferno is deep, ribald, filled with gossip, sex and there is even a fart joke thrown in... Not just a book for Lit. Majors. It's short, too. Read one Canto and you may get hooked!

Haven't had a pop tart in years, but my dirty little secret is that despite eating pretty healthy, I consume one of those 35 cent bags of Cool Ranch Doritos from time to time. That's one of those foods where you completely need to avoid looking at the ingredient list. They are good.

The "Confessional booth" is now ready to be occupied by another willing participant.
:- }

Fred said...

Great Monday puzzle, Jerome! I really enjoyed the theme, and it's totally not obvious until one uncovers TERMINATOR. Nice fill,too. I really liked "relative known for quitting", great clue.

I liked the HIYO answer because I've been listening to a lot of 1930s, 1940s Lone Ranger radio broadcasts that I downloaded free from the internet. Very enjoyable stuff, often better than the TV show.

embien said...

7:36 today. Pretty long solve time (for me) for a Monday, but the puzzle was well worth the extra minute or two.

Kudos to Jerome for a wonderful, fun puzzle.

Wow! KID ROCK in the grid. I've never seen that before. Although I'm not a rap fan, Kid Rock is a true talent. He had a top country album earlier this year ("Rock N Roll Jesus"), in short rotation on my car's CD player. All Summer Long is a pretty infectious song (non-rap).

Clear Ayes asked about favorite Kid Rock songs. Mine would have to be Cowboy (this is the "clean" version, probably not the best rendition, but suitable for MTV).

Warren said...

For @embien

This is the right one:all summer long


For @Andrea1263 re getting rid of gophers? Please see my 10:09 link

Dick said...

My confession, I like beer!!

Argyle said...

My confession, I don't like beer!!

Jerome said...

Fred- I'm taking your compliments as a particularly high honor.

Jazzbumpa said...

We buy Doritos in a bag the size of a bed pillow. I'm too scared to read the ingredient list.

Speaking of nutrition, the LW found a couple of interesting links.

On omega-3..

On Vitamin D..

Cheers!
JzB the tasty, crunchy trombonist

WM said...

Had to stop in because I want to add congrats to Jerome for a most excellent Monday puzzle. There was a real sense of playfulness in the theme and I really liked the BOO and EEK symmetry. Did know TROI, just not that it ended in I, and for some reason I always want 2 Ls in ELIOT...should know better by now.

On the word duplication, we seem to have a lot of it in Calif because of so many Spanish names. Another example, which I think I mentioned before, a seasonal lake on the Stanford campus where the tradional fall bonfire is held is called Lake Lagunita which literally means lake little lake...

Guilty pleasures: Only in October, Jelly Belly candy corns and on occasion a really big bag of lightly salted Kettle Chips from Costco...since we rarely eat anything processed, our salt levels are very low, so it is only a minor guilty pleasure. The serious guilty pleasure is donuts from a nearby shop, but only once or twice a year...yum :o)

I'm with Kazie on overly sweet stuff and prefer European style desserts where the emphasis is on intensity of flavor with little or no extra sugar.

PJB...re: Fall...one of my favorite times of year on a number of levels, one of which is the beautiful golden light in the afternoons. Having the sunroom and a Northern Exposure house allows me to track the progress of the sun through the year as the path slips southward in the Fall and Winter. Being in France and especially England and Scotland in the Fall makes it understandable that people like Constable and many of the Impressionists were so taken with the light, it can be almost tactile at times.

Making baby steps and getting some large canvases stretched. Then need to start on the long gessoing process in hopes of soon being able to make time to paint.

A beautiful day to you all.

embien said...

Thanks, Warren, for correcting my erroneous link. (I had the wrong thing on my ctl-c)

Chickie said...

Hello All--A most enjoyable puzzle today, Jerome. Great clues, especially the Relative known for quitting, and Popular Apple. I fell into the I-Pod, I-mac trap and also Hi-ho/yo abyss, along with others today. However, those mistakes righted themselves pretty quickly with the perps. I was able to finish without any outside help, which is always a plus.

We all have words that we hear and find are wrong when we see the spelling. One of my first graders while listening (and saying) the pledge of allegience thought that our nation was invisible instead of indivisible. He thought that I had made a mistake when I wrote out the pledge for a booklet that we were doing. That is a rather obvious mishearing, but we all have had that problem at one time or another.

Andrea 123, Try the library for the book I suggested. Zoe would especially love the illustrations.
Boo and Eek both come to mind while reading this book.

WM said...

Chickie...re: Pledge of Allegiance. My mother, a 5th grade teacher, had a child come up after the pledge one morning and ask her who Richard Stands was...and to the Republic for Richard Stands...

Clear Ayes said...

Kazie & WM, I understand what you mean about sweets. I think the last Pop-tart I ate was probably when my daughter last demanded them. That makes it "leventy-seven" or so years ago.

My favorite desserts are homemade fruit pies, but I don't give in to that very often either (too easy to eat the whole darn pie!). The pie thing is my confession too. I have actually eaten a whole pie at one sitting...more than once. I haven't done that for many years, but then I don't have pies sitting around the house anymore.

WM, you'll have time for painting later. For now, just take care of yourself and your husband. I hope he is doing well.

Jerome, thanks for the editor recommendation. However, people like Rich Norris are wonderfully multi-talented, while I am proud to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. Oh, wait a minute. I gave up chewing gum quite a few years ago. My excuse was it stuck to my dental work, but the real reason was that I kept falling over.

Dennis said...

Andrea, a couple years ago we bought one of those ultrasonic mole repellents (from Sharper Image or Brookstone, etc.), and within a few weeks, we noticed that Mr. Mole seemed to have relocated to our neighbor's yard. Maybe coincidence, or maybe it really worked. It's a gadget, and I'm a sucker for gadgets.

PJB, Jimmy Fallon is indeed cringe-worthy.

Fred, I was given a set of old radio broadcasts last year - included Gangbusters, The Phantom, The Lone Ranger, etc. -- really great to listen to. They painted wonderful word pictures back then.

Argyle, I'm with you - can't take beer. I just get full before I even get a buzz.

WM, great to see you - hope you get that much-needed painting time.

ClearAyes, I too am guilty of eating a whole pie on occasion, but make no apologies.

Anonymous said...

Good puzzle today and loved the theme. Congrats Jerome and Argyle on the blog. HI HO was what I put too.

The reference to the date caught me by surprise. It is our 24th wedding anniversary today, and if you watch Back to the Future the date on the car that they go "back" to the future is 10/26/1985. I always love that that movie took place on our wedding day.

We used to get lots of gophers in our yard when I was growing up. They would hang out in the downspouts of our rain gutters. My brothers would enjoy picking up the downspout and terrorizing them by tilting it so they would slide back and forth. The they would dump the gopher out. It was so dazed they would pick it up by the tail and spin it around. Brutal guys. I wouldn't recommend that as a solution. It used to haunt me. Boys!

DoesItinInk said...

Even for a Monday, this was a very easy puzzle. The theme did not excite me as I neither like Arnold Schwarzenegger nor have seen any of his movies. Ah, well, tomorrow!

MJ said...

I thought this was a beautifully constructed puzzle, with so many fresh fills which have already been referenced. All the theme answers were gimmes for me, which is unusual. I'LL FLY AWAY is on Alan Jackson's "Precious Memories" CD, I knew BE PREPARED as my sons were in scouts, BACK TO BACK just made sense, and The TERMINATOR is the only Schwarzenegger film I know of. My favorite clue was "Relative known for quitting."

Thank you, Jerome, for a great puzzle, and Argyle for your blog!

lois said...

Good evening Argyle, CC, et al.,
Excellent puzzle and Argyle, great job, as always.

Count me in on the Hi Ho poll. Never heard Hi Yo ever.

Loved the 'uncle' clue. Brought back a lot of memories w/my older brother. He finally had to say it for the first time after years of being a 'royal' pain in my hindparts. One time I put extra 'bran' in his muffins and only wish I could've made him wait in 'line' for the bathroom. He went down 'in flame's and called a truce. It was a learning experience for both of us. I considered it an 'omen' and learned to always 'be prepared' and not to get in a 'snit' but just get even. He learned to never 'fuss' with whom you 'dwelt' or 'eat at' the table with the one you 'irk'ed and who did the cookin'. We're still very close.

Lemonade: loved your idea of poptarts. Hilarious!

Love Schwarzenegger...esp after he sent young Kenny a signed photo. It's still in a frame on his dresser.

Jerome: great job. Always interesting to hear what you have to say.

Dennis: SNL is my most favorite TV show. Love those reports. Funny stuff.

Enjoy your night.

Lemonade714 said...

I will never understand all the negativity, as crossword puzzles are done for fun, not fortune. Also, why is it we are beset with cowards who want to say negative things but do not have the cojones to identify themselves? If you believe the LAT is not worth doing (a) why do it? (b) why read a blog about it? (c) why comment on that blog? My question is simply how many published crossword puzzles have you constructed? I am in awe of the patience and creativity the process requires. I also can imagine the amount of work is still prodigious, even with all the computer tools.
So again, thank you JG and all the rest.

Lemonade714 said...

Speaking of poptarts, or hi ho, hi ho....oh never mind.

love you ladies!!!

Jerome said...

Dennis- you started my day by giving me my first smile.

And equal to that, thanks to all. I know who you are.

Creating a puzzle brings me a lot of personal joy. The biggest joy, however, is being able to give others a few moments of fun in a tough world... during some tough times.

A salute to spirit and community!

Lemonade714 said...

Jerome:

Thank you.

and for you:

A salute to spirits

Prostitute's alias.

Anonymous said...

Eesh...way boring..what happened to the delightful wordplay of late...obvious the tar pits a gimme for those of us on the coast...hmmm, last time i read inferno it was part of divina commedia and thirtyfive cent bags of anything...when was that, 1962? miguel

Jeannie said...

I've been absent of late but finally got a chance to catch myself up at work and home and low and behold end up solving a JEROME puzzle!! Very enjoyable and was able to solve without any outside help. Jerome, don't heed the anon ass as he doesn't have the balls to sign his name. Let him try to construct a puzzle, be turned down, edited, and finally interviewed by C.C.

Lemonade...I am thinking you prefer blondes. My pick is B as she never shaved her head....(shudder)

Dennis, I am kind of confused as why you couldn't come up with the line of the hymn as Lois and I sing really loud right behind you in church. I am thinking your pie of choice involves some sort of cream.

Lo-li-ta back atit.

Anonymous said...

24D: Kellogg's toaster pastry: POP-TART. They are facing a stiff ad campaign from Toaster Strudel.

We used to refer to members of the Air Force as pop tarts since the length of their basic training is 1 month compared to the Marines which is 13 weeks.

My favourite Clapton song. That is a tough one one. If I had to choose
one.

After Midnight (1987)

Slow Hand


RSD

Anonymous said...

Windhover we also have a large percentage of tooth loss.

It has led to coin the phrase when Ernie Fletcher was gov.

Kentucky were backwards, and looking forward to staying that way.

I must confess Steve Beshear hasn't much of anything since he took over either....

BISCUITS & GRAVY

MamaRuth said...

Thanks all for the great You tube links. I don't usually look at You tube unless someone directs me to a specific link. Liked the wonderful versions of the Eric Clapton classics but go a nice laugh from the Mom song. I'll pass that one on to some friends.

Andrea--about getting rid of moles. A long-time gardener who used to be a neighbor advised putting glycerin down the holes. They don't like it and they supposedly move away. Glycerin is inexpensive but I've never seen it sold in the gallon jars that I would need to get rid of all the mole hills in my yard.

MamaRuth said...

If so many of us put HI HO, can we all be wrong? Have you ever seen the written lyrics for a song you thought you knew and found out you've been wrong for 20 or 30 years or more?
I was taught French in Junior High school by listening only for a few weeks, then getting the book. I bet we all sounded like the kids everyone is quoting but with the teacher's South Philly accent. No wonder I don't remember much French.

Argyle said...

If it's on a lunch box, it must be true.